Index member.



' J. H. RAND.

INDEX MEMBER. H RPPLICATION FILED DEC- 30. "H6- mnm Feb. 5,19%.

ans n. jnann, ornnwron, nassacnusnrrs;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, JAMES H. Ram), a citizen of the United States, and resident of Newton',' in the county of Middles ex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Index Members,

be swung on their bars or carriers to permit 1 the inspection or making of entries on underlying cards while in normal position the cards .overlap one another with their free margins exposed to display indexing matter.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention,-

Figure 1 is a front face View of an index member containing the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2 2 I of Fig. 1; and

face view of theindex Fig. 3 is a rear memben- A represents a card sheet constituting the body of the indexmember, to'the upper edge of which is secured a strip B of textile fabric or-other suitable material. .The strip B, if of fabric, is suitably stidened to support the weight of the card, and may be provided with tabs b, coated withan adhesive gum for attachment to the edge of the card A. ;C is the supporting bar or carrier, in the form of a sheath of'sheet celluloid or otlfl er' at front face. a, a flat rear face c and an insuitable resilient material, having a turned lip 0 bent up from the edge of the face 0' opposite the fold between the faces a and 0'. Thus the sheath C constitutes a substantially closed tube into which the folded margin 6 of the supporting strip B may be inserted by sliding the same lengthwise in the tubular sheath 0. The card A swings on the fabric'su-pporting strip as a hinge. The ends of the sheath C. project beyond the side edges of the card A to'engage the usual ide channels of the frame (not shown) fir supporting and spacing the cards. It will be understood that other forms of supporting bars and other modes of attachment I nnnnma,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented at; in

Application filed December 30, 1916. Serial ltd-139,795.

of the card thereto may beemployed. The particular forms described constitute no part of the present invention but are re served for separate application.

The opposite margin of the card or sheet A' is provided with an ofiset margin an,

which is preferably integral with the body of the card, and may be formed by bending or pressing the margin of the card, with suitable dies or otherwise,'folding the same on three parallel lines to form atrough like structure with three closed walls, namely, a-

connecting wall or shoulder a, a wall a, and a terminal wall or flange a thefourth side of the box-like structure thus formed being The v ofi'set margin w is covered by a sheath D of "transparent, sheet material, such as sheet celluloid, bent or folded 'to form a flat front face d, overlying the open, hollow or recessed side of the ofi'set struc.-

ture, a flat rear face 0! covering the rear side of the od'set margin, and an inturned retaining lip .d on .the' extremity of the rear side (1', to engage the shoulder a" of the offset margin. The sheath D is removable from the ofiset margin by sliding the sheath endwise on the margin. The face d of the sheath 1D preferably extends inwardly over ofl'set margin so that the next adj acent ovcrthe face of the card or sheet A beyond the lying index card, when a series of similar members are mounted in the frame, will rest at. its lower edge on the face cl and slipv readily thereon without catching, when a number of the cards are swung upwardly on their hinges. The relation of the extension face d to the next overlapping card is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In the recess formed between the od'set margin a and the face d of the sheath, is a removable indicator strip E of paper or other suitable sheet material for receiving suitable index data or inscriptions appropriate to the entries on the card or sheetA.

This construction with the offset margin and the flat faced sheath which lies substan-' tiallyflush with the face of the card A, pro

duces an index element for an overlapping card index in which the free or exposed margin of the card may carry a protective transparent sheath and a removable indicator strip at the front side of the card, all presentlng a fiat, smooth front surface substantially flush with the front surface of the body of the card, and fr from any for wardly projecting tubular sheath and index strip-, which would stand in relief from the face of the cardbut for the ofiset margin a. The inserted strip E may thus lie substantially in the plane of the body A of the card 1 but without any indicator strip or other in- It will also be understood that this ofiset margin could be 'us'edat the upper edge of the card, or at both the upper and lower edges. In either case the, ofiset structure affords an admirable :torni of connection hetweenthe card and the sheath capable of detachment by sliding the sheath endwise of the card nal-gm.

s eeaeee I claimi L Anlindex member comprising" a sheet hav ingan offset margin extending completely across one edge of the sheet, a sheath of transparent material embracing said ofiset margin, having a flat front faceextending across the recess formed bythe offset margin and ga the shoulder of the offset margin, said eath bein open and unobstructed at both ends where y said sheath is removable from the sheet by sliding the same length-' wise of the ofiset margin, and forms with the "offset margin a hollow stripholder open at both ends, and a removable indicator strip adapted to slide cndvtise into and out of said openended strip holder.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 28th day of December, 1916.

JAMES H. RAND an inturned lip on its rear side en- 

